Sit Too Much? 4 Steps To Fix Yourself

If you work at a desk job, you probably have a lot of mandatory sit-and-stay in your life.

Unfortunately, “sit and stay” is a recipe for pain and limited movement.

Think about the last time you took a long drive. When you arrived at your destination, did you bounce out of the car? Or did you unfold yourself slowly, rubbing unhappy back muscles and struggling to move your legs with purpose?

If after sitting for two or three hours, you tend to walk bent over for a bit, you’re normal. But as you probably suspect, that kind of “normal” is not healthy. Sitting most of the day, whether at work, in a car, or on a couch (sorry couch potatoes!) can leave your hips, back, shoulders and neck feeling locked up.

Over time, the no-win cycle leads to frequent aches and pains, limited mobility, and eventually, can make you much more prone to injury.

Obviously, you want to prevent that!

4 Steps to Un-Do the Damage Sitting Can Cause

The good news is that there are some SIMPLE things you can do to break the cycle and keep your body more in line with the way it should be, naturally.

Try doing these four things every day for a week and tell us about the difference you notice:

Move! Even if your job requires sitting all day, do some gentle chair stretches every 20 minutes. (Your neck hands, and shoulders will thank you!) Every hour, stand up and move around for a few minutes. Set a timer to make this happen. If you’re driving a long distance, do the smart, safe thing and take brief rest stops and get out of the car and walk. Breathe some air!

Roll. Repeat after me: the foam roller is your friend. Use it to loosen up tight spots; a few gentle rolls should help break up knots in trouble spots.

Stretch. When you sit too much, your hip flexors will get tight. That will make other lower body (and back) muscles tighten up, leading to changes in the way you move, leading to weakness. It’s a bad chain reaction. Stretching is the best way to break this chain!

Be more active throughout each day. Find ways to add steps and incorporate more movement into your daily routine. Take the stairs, park farther away, and find excuses to move! Not only will this give those tight muscles a break, it will help keep your blood flowing and boost your metabolism.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes! Let’s start a MOVEMENT! (Get it? A MOVEment? hahaha! Hey, even laughing at my bad jokes is a tiny bit of exercise.) Anyway, give your body a break from sitting and try these four things every day. I want to know how it goes!!

We’ve known for a long time that sitting is hard on the body, and can even age it prematurely. Need help unwinding and un-doing the damage you’ve done while working so hard at your desk job? Please get in touch…we can have you feeling like bouncing out of your chair and back into activities you enjoy faster than you might think.